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PROGRAM:

NAME

swatch - simple watcher

SYNOPSIS

swatch [ --awk-field-syntax ] [ --config-file|-c file ] [ --daemon ] [
--extra-include-dir|-I path ] [ --extra-module|-M module_name ] [ --help|-h ] [
--input-record-separator regex ] [ --old-style-config|-O ] [ --pid-file file ] [
--restart-time|-r time ] [ --script-dir path ] [ --tail-args arguments_for_tail_program ]
[ --tail-program-name filename ] [ --version|-V ] [ --use-cpan-file-tail ] [ [
--examine|-f file_to_examine ] | [ --read-pipe|-p program_to_pipe_from ] | [
--tail-file|-t file_to_tail ] ] [ --debug [ level ] ] [ --dump-script filename ]

DESCRIPTION

Swatch is designed to monitor system activity. In order for Swatch to be useful, it
requires a configuration file which contains pattern(s) to look for and action(s) to
perform when each pattern is found.

COMMAND LINE OPTIONS

--awk-field-syntax
Use this option only if you want to overide regular expression backreferencing in
favor of awk(1) style field referencing. Included for backward compatability.

--config-file|-c filename
Tells swatch where to find its configuration file. The default is ${HOME}/.swatchrc.

--daemon
This tells swatch to run in the background and disassociate itself from any terminal.

--extra-include-dir|-I path
This tells swatch where to look for custom action modules.

--extra-module|-M module_name
This tells swatch what custom action modules to load in.

--help|-h
Prints usage information and exits.

--input-record-separator=regular_expression
Tells swatch to use regular_expression to delineate the boundary of each input record.
The default is a carriage return.

--old-style-config|-O
This tells swatch that your configuration file is written using the syntax that was
abandoned back in the 1990's.

--pid-file file
Writes the process ID to file. Useful when running in daemon mode.

--restart-time=[+]hh:mm[am|pm] or -r [+]hh:mm[am|pm]
Restart at the specified time where hh is hours and mm is minutes. If the am/pm
indicator is omitted, then a 24-hour clock is assumed. If the time is preceded by the
"+" character, then the restart time will be set to the current time plus the
specified time and the am/pm indicator will be ignored.

--script-dir=/path/to/directory
This switch causes the temporary watcher script to be written to a file in the
specified directory rather than the user's home directory. It is highly advised that
you do NOT use directories that are writable by others such as /tmp.

--tail-args arguments_for_tail_program
Pass specific options to the tail(1) program.

--tail-program-name filename
Runs an alternate tail(1) like program instead of the system default.

--version or -V
Prints version information and exits.

--use-cpan-file-tail
Use CPAN's File::Tail module to read the log file instead of the tail(1) command.

You may specify only one of the following options:

--tail-file=filename or -t filename
Examine lines of text as they are added to filename.

--read-pipe=command or -p command
Examine input piped in from the command.

--examine=filename or -f filename
Use filename as the file to examine. Swatch will do a single pass through the named
file.

The following options are purely for debugging purposes, but are documented here for
completeness:

--debug[=level]
Spew out various levels of debugging for swatch developers.

--dump-script[=filename]
Instead of running the watcher script after it is generated, it is written to filename
or to STDOUT.

If swatch is called with no options, it is the same as typing the command line

swatch --config-file=~/.swatchrc --tail-file=/var/log/syslog

or if /var/log/messages exists

swatch --config-file=~/.swatchrc --tail-file=/var/log/messages

THE CONFIGURATION FILE

The configuration file is used by the swatch(8) program to determine what types of
expression patterns to look for and what type of action(s) should be taken when a pattern
is matched.

Each line should contain a keyword and a, sometimes optional, value for that keyword. The
keyword and value are separated by a space or an equal (=) sign.

watchfor regex

ignore regex

echo [modes]
Echo the matched line. The text mode may be normal, clear, reset, bold underline,
underscore, blink, reverse, concealed, black, red green, yellow, blue, magenta,
on_black, on_red, on_green on_yellow, on_blue, on_magenta, on_cyan, on_white. The
<on_> colors specify a highlighting color. Some modes may not work on some terminals.
Normal is the default. For modes changes and additions check perl module
Term::ANSIColor man page.

bell [N]
Echo the matched line, and send a bell N times (default = 1).

exec command
Execute command. The command may contain variables which are substituted with fields
from the matched line. A $N will be replaced by the Nth field in the line. A $_ will
be replaced by the entire line. Variable $0 will show the name of the executed script.

mail [addresses=address:address:...][,subject=your_text_here]
Send mail to address(es) containing the matched lines as they appear (default address
is the user who is running the program).

Note that the @ sign in the email addresses must be escaped with a backslash, like
"user\@example.com".

pipe command[,keep_open]
Pipe matched lines into command. Use the keep_open option to force the pipe to stay
open until a different pipe action is run or until swatch exits.

write [user:user:...]
Use write(1) to send matched lines to user(s).

throttle hours:minutes:seconds,[key=message|regex|<regexE]>
This action has been depreciated. Use threshold instead For example,

throttle 15:00,key="foo"

would look like this

threshold track_by="foo",type=limit,count=1,seconds=900

threshold track_by=key, type=<limit|threshold|both, count=number, seconds=number>
Thresholding can be done for the complete watchfor block and/or for individual
actions. Add "threshold=on" as an option along with the other threshold options when
thresholding an individual action.

track_by
The value of this should be something that is unique to the watchfor regular
expression. Tip: enclose unique parts of the regular expression in parentheses,
then use the sub matches as part of the value (e.g. track_by="$2:$4").

type
There are three types of thresholding. They are as follows:

limit
Perform action(s) for the first "count" matches during the time interval
specified by "seconds", then ignore events for the rest of the time interval
(kind of like throttle)

threshold
Perform action(s) on each match for up to count matches during the time
interval specified by seconds

both
Perform actions(s) once per time interval after "count" matches occur, then
ignore additional matches during the time interval specified by "seconds"

continue
Use this action to cause swatch to continue to try to match other pattern/action
groups after it is done with the current pattern/action block.

quit
Use this action to cause swatch to clean up and quit immediately.

SPECIAL OPTION

The following may be used as an option for any of the above actions except for throttle
and threshold.

when=day_of_week:hour_of_day
Use this option to specify windows of time and days when the action can be performed.
For example:

mail=[email protected],when=1-6:8-17

FOR PERL HACKS ONLY

perlcode [depth] arbitrary_Perl_code
This permits you to easily insert random Perl code into your swatchrc file. The
optional depth value tells swatch how deep into the code to put the perl code.
(0=outside the main loop, 1=inside the main loop (default), 2=just inside the
conditional used by the current watchfor statement, and 3=inside the throttle block).

Its intended use is to permit variable substitution. For example:

perlcode $syslog="^\w{3}\s+\d{1,2}\s+\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}.*";

watchfor /$syslog hostname pppd/>

but any valid Perl is permitted. Remember the semicolon, and make judicious use of
the --dump-script option if you run into trouble.

CONFIGURATION EXAMPLE

In this example, a line which contains the string "file system full" will be echoed and
the screen bell will sound. Also, threshold will use what is matched within the
parentheses as its key rather than trying to use the log message with its time stamp cut
out. Multiple instances of the message will not be echoed if they appear within a minute
of the first one. Instead the following message will be acted upon after the time interval
has expired.

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